Lubinets: ICRC statements that equate aggressor and victim dangerous
Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets expressed his outrage to the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, in connection with the statement made by the ICRC Director for Europe and Central Asia.
"I am currently on a working visit to Geneva, where I met with ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger. First of all, I expressed my fundamental disagreement and deep emotional outrage at the statement by the ICRC Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia. Formulations that equate the aggressor state with the state defending itself are unacceptable, and at this level, even dangerous," Lubinets wrote on Telegram on Friday.
He emphasized that Russia is waging war and is deliberately targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure, leaving millions of people without heat, electricity, and water in severe frost.
"Our citizens, particularly children, are freezing in kindergartens, schools, on the streets, and at home. Russia is targeting educational institutions, hospitals, and residential buildings. For example, on January 9, a Russian drone hit the home of our colleague. The attack killed a medic who was saving lives after the attack. The man fled from the Russians in the temporarily occupied Nova Kakhovka but died a horrific death in Kyiv—under rubble. This is not an abstract confrontation, but a deliberate tactic of terror against civilians," the ombudsman noted.
According to Lubinets, he invited the ICRC leadership to visit Ukraine and see firsthand the consequences of Russian strikes.
"For example, spend a day in our office and understand how people work in such conditions. And how they live in houses where electricity is only on for three hours a day, where the indoor temperature is 7°C – like it is now on the streets of Geneva. Perhaps then the words on paper will begin to correspond to reality again," the human rights commissioner emphasized.
Lubinets also reported that the parties discussed the issue of ICRC access to Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians illegally detained by Russian occupiers, as well as the organization's involvement in their verification. The Ombudsman stated that the meeting also discussed the development of an effective system for searching for missing persons and ICRC support for Ukrainian citizens seeking to leave the temporarily occupied territories. He noted that considerable attention was devoted to the exchange of prisoners of war.
"The ICRC needs access, but first and foremost to Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians illegally held by Russia. This is precisely the organization's mandate. And it is precisely the lack of systematic access to our people in captivity that has undermined trust in the ICRC for years. I also emphasized to the ICRC leadership that Ukraine expects the international organization to consistently implement its humanitarian mandate," Lubinets emphasized.